Junior heavyweight Derek Berberick qualified for nationals on Saturday to highlight three place-winners for the Shippensburg University wrestling team at the 2019 NCAA Division II Super Region 1 Championships hosted by Mercyhurst University inside the Mercyhurst Athletic Center (MAC).
 
Berberick placed second at heavyweight to extend Shippensburg's streak to 17 consecutive seasons with at least one NCAA Division II National Championships qualifier – including the last 10 under head coach Seth Bloomquist.
 
In his path to nationals, Berberick opened Saturday with a pin of East Stroudsburg's Cameron Kates in 1:16 that put him into the semifinals. There, Berberick notched his second victory of the season over No. 6-ranked Jacob Robb of Mercyhurst, this time by an 11-4 decision, which secured him a spot in the 285-pound title match.
 
Berberick scored a first-period takedown on Robb and held a 3-2 lead with less than a minute remaining in their match. With 43 seconds left, Berberick scored another takedown to take a 5-2 lead. Robb escaped and then got within one after a second stall call was issued to Berberick. In the final 10 seconds, Berberick recorded a takedown and a four-point near fall to clinch the win.
 
In the heavyweight match against No. 4-ranked Andrew Dunn – Kutztown's heavyweight who pinned Berberick less than 10 days ago – a takedown in the final 30 seconds was the difference in a 3-2 win for Dunn. The two men traded escapes through the first two periods and Berberick held tough, escaping late after the takedown for the one-point margin.
 
Berberick improved to 14-7 on the season. Saturday marked his third consecutive Super Region 1 Championships appearance, and he is now 5-5 all-time at regionals.
 
All five of Shippensburg's representatives at the lowest weight classes (125 pounds through 157 pounds) were making their Super Region 1 Championships debuts – and two of them came away with place-winning performances.
 
At 125 pounds, freshman Corbin Hopkins entered Saturday having wrestled just four collegiate bouts with a 1-3 record. By the end of the day, Hopkins had doubled his win total and finished with fifth place at the weight class for the region.
 
After an 11-1 major decision loss to the regional champion – No. 9-ranked Brendan Howard of UPJ – Hopkins rebounded with a 5-2 decision over LIU Post's Brandon Mercado in which he used a second-period takedown and earned a riding time point after riding Mercado the entire final period.
 
Wrestling for a spot in the third-place match, Hopkins came up just short in an 8-7 setback to Mercyhurst's Jake Ruggieri. Hopkins scored two first-period takedowns and had a riding time point at the end, but a second-period reversal and two back points proved to be the difference for Ruggieri.
 
In his fifth-place match, a 7-6 decision over Seton Hill's Derrick Chandler-Christe, Hopkins overcame two reversals and a takedown to claim the victory – scoring his points on a pair of first-period takedowns and three escapes over the course of the match.
 
At 133 pounds, freshman Jake Downing finished in sixth place. Downing yielded a 16-7 major decision to Seton Hill's Alan Diltz but came back and scored a 6-0 decision over East Stroudsburg's Nick Conetta in which he scored a pair of two-point near falls in the third period while beginning the frame on top.
 
Downing was unable to get into the third-place match as he dropped a 2-0 decision to Gannon's Austin Hertel, who ended up finishing third for the last national championship qualification from the weight class. Hertel rode Downing for the entirety of the second period to earn a riding time point and escaped during the third period en route to his 2-0 decision.
 
Other Raiders to win bouts on the day included freshman Colton Babcock, who notched a 10-4 win in sudden victory over Kutztown's Jake Jones at 149 pounds, and senior Abner Thompson who scored a 5-3 decision at 165 pounds against American International's Rafiq Conway.
 
Shippensburg finished the day in ninth place with 29 points. Saturday marked the first year with NCAA Division II's new super regional structure with six regions, and the Top 3 place-winners at each weight class advancing to the national championships.
 
125
#9 Brendan Howard (UPJ) maj. dec. Corbin Hopkins (SU), 11-1
Corbin Hopkins (SU) dec. Brandon Mercado (LIU-P), 5-2
Jacob Ruggieri (Hurst) dec. Corbin Hopkins (SU), 8-7
Corbin Hopkins (SU) dec. Derrick Chandler-Christe (SHU), 7-6
 
133
Alan Diltz (SHU) maj. dec. Jake Downing (SU), 16-7
Jake Downing dec. Nick Conetta (ESU), 6-0
Austin Hertel (GU) dec. Jake Downing (SU), 2-0
Ryan McGuire (Ville) dec. Jake Downing (SU), 2-0
 
141
Dylan Nace (ESU) pins Matt Milbrand (SU), 3:22
Anthony Petril (KU) maj. dec. Matt Milbrand (SU), 9-1
 
149
Chris Gomez (LIU-P) maj. dec. Colton Babcock (SU), 12-4
Colton Babcock (SU) dec. Jake Jones (KU), 10-4, SV1
Joel Morth (AIC) dec. Colton Babcock (SU), 12-6
 
157
#10 Chad Haegele (KU) dec. Drake Brenize (SU), 7-0
Eduardo Ramirez (LIU-P) dec. Drake Brenize (SU), 3-1, SV1
 
165
Abner Thompson (SU) dec. Rafiq Conway (AIC), 5-3
#4 Logan Grass (Hurst) pins Abner Thompson (SU), 3:28
Dan Arkow (LIU-P) dec. Abner Thompson (SU), 7-2
 
174
#7 Mike Raccioppi (ESU) pins Adam Martz (SU), 3:19
Trevor Johnson (Hurst) maj. dec. Adam Martz (SU), 9-1
 
184
#1 Jeff Reimel (KU) pins Ryan Narber (SU), 1:00
Dan McClure (LIU-P) dec. Ryan Narber (SU), 6-5
 
197
Trever Begin (Hurst) dec. Alexi Castro (SU), 8-5
James Meyer (KU) dec. Alexi Castro (SU), 9-5
 
285
Derek Berberick (SU) pins Cameron Kates (ESU), 1:16
Derek Berberick (SU) dec. #6 Jacob Robb (Hurst), 11-4
#4 Andrew Dunn (KU) dec. Derek Berberick (SU), 3-2